Translation result.
With the Special Act on the Administrative Capital stalled in the National Assembly committee responsible for it, Rep. Kim Jong-min on March 24 urged lawmakers to expedite review and passage of the bill.
Independent Rep. Kim, representing Sejong A district, wrote on Facebook that there is broad agreement across parties on the need for an administrative capital. He noted that this goal has been repeatedly and clearly promised — from the president’s campaign pledge and national policy agenda to speeches by opposition leaders.
He said the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee, which oversees the bill, has not moved the measure forward at an appropriate pace. Discussions appear to have been postponed as other contentious items, notably real estate legislation, took priority.
Kim warned that large-scale budgets for the administrative capital — including the presidential office, the National Assembly building and the creation of a national symbolic zone — began this year. Changing course later, he said, would inevitably waste substantial funds and create administrative confusion.
He characterized the administrative-capital issue as one that goes to the heart of public trust in the state.
“Promises and postponements have been repeated at every election for more than 20 years,” he said. “Public distrust has grown. This time, we must deliver results through action.”
On questions of constitutionality, Kim argued that waiting solely for a constitutional amendment is not responsible. Instead, he said, the National Assembly should pass the special law first and then seek the Constitutional Court’s review — a reevaluation that reflects changing times.
He emphasized that as many as 104 lawmakers from both parties co-sponsored the bill and urged the two party floor leaders and the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee to ensure the special administrative-capital bill is placed on the agenda and receives substantive review at the bill subcommittee meeting scheduled for the 30th.
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